Read Modern Library's 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century

I had a mixed reaction to Rushdie’s first novel (and the first of his I’ve read). I know little of the history of India/Pakistan/Kashmir/Bangladesh, so the story of the ancient region’s new infancy and adolesence was captivating.

The “magical” elements are interesting to me as well, because I’m not sure how to react to their presence. Might Saleem’s powers, his prophecies, his conspiracies all be delusions of grandeur and guilt? Even if that were so, it seems that his environment fostered his fatalism – surrounded on all sides and through all time by a generous plurality of fanaticism, folklore, domestic sorcery, petty intrigue, gossip, superstition, etc.

I never did quite adjust to the narration, the story-teller interrogating himself in a long-winded and frequently repetitive verbal marathon. While I suppose it is impressive to fuse Dickens with 1,001 Nights, this everything-but the kitchen sink style of writing can inspire fatigue. With its myriad digressions and circumlocutions, this is far from a tidy tale. Then again, India is not a tidy country, but one of teeming multiplicity, crowded with stories.

Justine is one of the most hyped books I have ever encountered, and while not a bad book per se, it really doesn’t justify the cult following it supposedly has. None of the books in this quartet really hold up on their own, but combined, the effect is bigger than the sum of their parts. I was reminded of Rashomon when the same events were retold from different vantage points…and our opinion of the motives of each characters continues to shift and become more complex as we read on. The style is a bit like a long-winded, ornate letter…and I found myself always hearing about the characters I was interested in second-hand via characters who I didn’t really care about at the time. There are some good ideas and powerful secenes (e.g. Narouz’s last day) scattered throughout, and an occasional clever turn of phrase, but many chapters drone on for ages without holding any real interest…and yet something keeps you moving forward. It’s as if someone who really annoyed you were telling you a story that you really wanted to hear. It made me want to go to Alexandria to see what remains of Durrell’s (largely imagined) vision…

“What are you reading?”
“Angle of Repose”
“What’s it about?”
“Um, it’s about this old guy in a wheelchair who is writing a history of his Grandmother. His grandparent’s marital problems mirror his own failures in love. It’s also about cultural and generation gaps and…”
“Sounds boring.”
“No, not really. It’s kind of great.”
“Huh. Ok…”
”...”
“Oh My God, did I tell you what happened on Myspace!?”
”...”

John Dos Passos’ U.S.A. trilogy is an enormous book. I recommend it; if you want to know why, see my brief blurb at All Consuming.

I had read everything else by Paul Bowles (the novels, the stories), then moved on to read everything available by Jane Bowles. I saved The Sheltering Sky for last, in part because at the time, I was still distrustful of the popular, but there was something else holding me back instinctually.

The power of death is overwhelming, and the altered state which Kit enters into to avoid confrontation with despair mirrored my own struggle as a reader, driven ever deeper, yet not wanting to reach the end. Like the force of nature, the book seems to understand me better than I will ever understand it. A strange experience.

All-consuming blurb here. It ain’t pretty.

I finished Loving by Henry Green. My initial brief ramblings about it are over at AllConsuming (here).

I’ll be starting The Sound and the Fury next (with some trepidation as I can’t say I enjoyed As I Lay Dying).

Darkness At Noon is every bit as chilling and memorable as you may have heard. I have nothing more to say about it at the moment. I’m starting Henry Green’s Loving (as well as Living and Party Going – the latter two, not on the list, but are in the book I got from the library) today.

Walker Percy is great. My all consuming blurb about The Moviegoer is here.

I’m starting Darkness At Noon today.

I finished “As I Lay Dying,” and I wrote a short review of it on AllConsuming, where I plan to write a little about each of the books I read if anyone cares…